The Garton Toy Company was founded in Sheboygan, Wisconsin by Eusebius Bassingdale Garton in 1879. For 94 years the company manufactured coaster wagons, sleds, tricycles, pedal cars, scooters and other toys for children. At one time the company was the largest wheel goods toy factory in the world, exporting its toys to many foreign countries.

Eusebius Bassingdale Garton’s son, Clarence Edmund Garton, presided over the first meeting of the Garton Foundation on December 30, 1943. There were three incorporators of the foundation: C.E. Garton, E.C. Garton and Delmar W. Huenink.